It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas!

The song "It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas" has been running through my head endlessly. Wonder why? It's on the radio and store speakers all the time! (It may be politically correct to say Happy Holidays but they can't take Christ-mas out of all the songs!!)  It's a very nice song but today the thought came to mind... what does Christmas look like? Lights and elves and presents and the smells of evergreens and gingerbread? If so, yep. It looks like Christmas! But Christmas means way more than that to me.

Out of curiosity I googled the meaning of the word "Christmas" for insight in what it 'looks' like. They don't know. =) The word broken down is Christ (I'm smart, huh?) and mas, or mass. There were alot of takes on that....some of them so deep and bizarre I moved on quickly. Basically, mass is a celebration; the word meaning "Ite, Missa Est" or "Go, it is dismissed" (hmmm, telestai?). In the current English translation the words are "The Mass is ended, go in peace". Now we're getting somewhere! I'm pretty simple-minded so what that says to me is the Christmas is Go celebrate Christ!  "Jesus is the Reason for the Season"...so what should that look like?  It should be all about HIM.

Of course Doug and I give gifts to those we love...but we can only love because He IS Love and loved us first.  And we know that He is the best Gift ever!

We've decorated our house with lights...because HE is the Light of the World!

I've done some baking and filled our home with wonderful smells of cakes and breads to share... knowing that He is the Bread of Life. Bread and Life that I need to be sharing with all those that He brings across my path.

I sit here looking at a beautiful Christmas tree in our living room....and am reminded of the tree that He willingly died on for me. and for you.

And my response to that? 

First, accepting His gift of salvation and knowing I am forgiven. That's why He came.  That's why He died....and rose again and still lives! If you don't know about His salvation or have questions about it, ask me! I'll be glad to share!

After that, my response is...to make time to nurture an intimate relationship with Him so I can be more like Him. You can't imitate someone you don't know.
   - to talk to Him
   - to study His Word
   - to be humble
   - to be an instrument of His peace
   - to see people through His eyes
   - to love them without condemnation or judgement. It's His job to convict, not mine!
   - to be light like He is Light
   - to speak Truth..in love
   - to pursue peace

Celebrate Him this Christmas!  Respond to Him! And don't forget the 'mas' part...go.  Go and make disciples. Go teach them what He's taught you. Go in peace knowing He is with you. That's what the name Jesus means...Emmanuel, God with us.

So with my mind and heart set on the right track, on things above...will you join me in singing...

I'M beginning to look alot like Christmas!!!

It's not them, it's US!

With the election coming up and one debate down, more to come...there's been a lot of talk about praying.  Some have even been referring to II Chronicles 7:14 asking everyone to pray so that God will heal our land.  Not that I have a problem with that, but I think sometimes we take the parts of Scripture that we need and not the whole.  I know I've been guilty of that. 

This morning I was reading Psalm 5...because today is October 5th.  (side note:  Several years ago I heard that a good way to read your Bible each day is to read through the Psalms & Proverbs by using the date & adding 30s. For example, today I will read Psalm 5, 35, 65, 95, 125 and Proverbs 5. It's amazing how every day, every month, God speaks His truth to me through at least one section of those verses!  If you struggle with how to read your Bible daily, try it!)

Anyway, Psalm 5:3 "In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."  Now, I do lay my requests before Him every morning. Some of you may know that I still have SBI (Scrambled Brain Issues...I made that up) from a concussion 4 years ago, and one of those 'issues' is I have A LOT of trouble focusing and staying on task. (There are drugs for that, which I gladly take daily!)  So I write to God. I pour my heart out to Him on paper.  I can't tell you how many spiral notebooks I've gone through, but they're just for me and Him. I don’t think He minds HOW we talk to Him, AS LONG AS WE TALK TO HIM! Wow, did I take a detour. 

Back to Psalm 5. Wait in expectation.  I love waiting in expectation of how He's going to answer...I just don't like to wait very long.  Like others, I'm praying for the election. I prayed for the debate earlier this week. I prayed that eyes would be opened, that God would use it to give us a sense of direction and hope. I prayed that the media would be fair in their reporting. Did I expect that to happen?  Not really. Shame on me.  What fun to see the media the next day! The next debate may have a completely different outcome, but for this one...I thank Him for answering my prayer!

That realization led me to II Chronicles again to read it exactly, not just the bits and pieces of what I remember it says.  As I wrote it down it was like a veil was lifted and I saw that verse differently.  "They" are not the problem...it's "us".

"If My people who are called by My Name" - that's me!  So if I will what? 

 

(1) humble myself; (2) pray; (3) seek His face; and (4) turn from my wicked ways.

THEN God will (1) hear me; (2) forgive me; and (3) heal this land.

 

I am called by His Name. He called me. He chose me. I am His.  Am I humble?  Not always. Pride is one of my biggest pitfalls.  And I'm not alone. Arrogance and pride seem to be popular in America. We need to be humble and pray.

So many seem to be praying that He will heal our land.  That's not what this verse says!  We need to be humble. We need to seek His face. We need to turn from our sin.  It says He will forgive us, so that means we're doing something wrong that we need to be asking for His forgiveness!  THEN He will heal our land.

This verse is not directed to the people who don't know Him. The bottom line is...the problem isn't "them".  It's us.  We hold the key to the healing of this land. I don't know about you, but I have some praying and seeking to do. 

 

 

What's He doing NOW?

It has been ten months since I posted on here. wow. I've had lots of blogs run through my head, but by the time I get to my computer, they're gone.  So here's this one while it's fresh on my scrambled up mind.

The word "testimony" has always made me nervous. I guess mainly because I'm so uncomfortable speaking in front of people and that's what I always thought of as "giving my testimony". I just looked the word up in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. Interesting.

1a. the tablets inscirbed withe the Mosaic law: the ark containing the tablets
1b. a divine decree attested in the Scriptures
2a. firsthand authentication of a fact: EVIDENCE
2b. an outward sign
2c. a solemn declaration usually made orally by a witness under oath in response to interrogation by a lawyer or authorized public official
3a. an open acknowledgement
3b. a public profession of religious experience

I love 2b and 3a...and that they should go hand in hand. I've often heard people say, and have said it myself, that the way I live my life is a testimony..."2b the outward sign". But lately I've been convicted and am convinced that the "outward sign" is not enough. Not for me. Not in this day and age. It's time for more "3a an open acknowledgement".

I Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

I have learned so many truths from so many pastors, teachers and other Christians but one truth that has stuck with me and has been a "life-changer" is a statement made by my pastor (Pastor Dave) in a very informal setting...around a campfire. He was asking if anyone wanted to share anything with the group and said (my very loose paraphrase) your testimony should always be fresh. If you don't have a testimony of what God has been doing in your life over the last 4 to 6 months, you need to think seriously about your relationship with Him. Whether you're listening to Him, following and being obedient.  Wow.

I love Facebook...keeping in touch with my family that I don't get to see on a daily basis, my friends both near and far, watching their kids & grandkids grow up through pics posted, what they had for dinner, who they went to the ballgame with, how unbearable the weather is, etc.  But I would love to hear what God is doing in their lives!  NOW! That's more important to me. That's the stuff that matters.  And I know God would be so pleased to see His kids talking about Him more! How else is the rest of the world going to know that God's not dead..He's surely alive...He's living on the inside of every person that belongs to Him!  The world is desperate for HOPE. You never know when something you say or post about Him will be exactly what someone else needs to hear or read. Tomorrow a new social media opens for Believers. I plan to check it out and expect to find encouragement there....but I won't neglect Facebook....because that's where the rest of the world is reading our posts.  We are not of this world, but we are in it...and it's our responsibility to testify of our HOPE in Christ!

So THAT is what God is doing in me NOW.  To testify. To be bold. To always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks me to give the reason for the hope I have. To step out of my comfort zone and speak out with an open acknowledgement...not just hope they'll be able to tell by how I live my life. To move from 2b to 3a.

What's He doing in you?